Arrest of a 44-year-old man after sexual assaults on minors in care institutions in Vienna
Investigations by the regional criminal office in Vienna have uncovered a serious sexual assault case within social care institutions, where a 44-year-old man is suspected of committing multiple assaults against individuals living in care facilities.
According to the Austrian news agency APA, the victims are aged between 12 and 25 years and live in care institutions in Vienna. Information indicates that the three known victims so far are two girls and a young man, all of whom are individuals unable to defend themselves or suffer from psychological disabilities.
The suspect was arrested on Monday evening after investigations conducted by the sexual crimes branch of the criminal office in Vienna. The arrest came by order of the public prosecutor in Wien, and the police also carried out a raid on the man's home.
During the search operation, the police confiscated electronic devices in addition to photo and video materials related to the case. The police confirmed that the suspect admitted to the alleged assaults and was transferred to a prison awaiting the completion of investigations.
Investigations indicate that the man was working as a freelance physiotherapist providing therapy sessions within a social institution contracted with the city of Wien. It is suspected that the assaults occurred during physiotherapy sessions inside a designated treatment room in the institution.
The police do not rule out the possibility of other victims and have asked anyone with information about the case to contact the criminal office in Vienna.
For its part, the Child and Youth Care Authority in Wien MA 11 confirmed that one of the affected institutions is a contractor with the city that provides care for children with multiple disabilities, including children who are unable to communicate verbally.
The authority explained that discovering such abuses is more difficult when victims are unable to express themselves or communicate verbally, especially in cases of physical therapy that inherently involves physical contact between the therapist and the patient.
After the case was revealed, the authorities began a regulatory investigation to identify all the locations where the practitioner worked and to verify if there were additional cases.